step by step 2000第二册unit11 d

A. Now you are going to hear a passage about some American expressions that are commonly based in business. Listen carefully and explain in note form the following words and expressions with the information you get from the story.

Today we tell about some American expressions that are commonly used in business.

Bell sound, lighted messages appear, men and women work at computers, they talk on the telephone, at times they shout and run around. This noisy place is a stock exchange. Here experts, salespeople called brokers buy and sell shares of companies. The shares are known as stocks. People who own stock in a company own part of that company. People pay brokers to buy and sell stocks for them. If a company earns money, its stock increases in value. If the company docs not earn money, the stock decreases in value. Brokers and investors carefully watch for any changes on the big board. That is the name given to a list of stocks sold on the New York Stock Exchange. The first written use of the word with that meaning was in a newspaper in Illinois in 1837. It said, "The sales on the board were $1,700 in American gold." Investors and brokers watch the big board to see if the stock market is a bull market or a bear market. In a bear market, prices go down. In a bull market, prices go up. Investors in a bear market promise to sell a stock in the future at a set price, but the investor does not own the stock yet. He or she waits to buy it when the price ducks. The meaning of a bear market is thought to come from an old story about a man who sold the skin of a bear before he caught the bear. An English dictionary of the 1600s said, "To sell a bear is to sell what one has not." Word experts dispute the beginning of the Word "bull" in the stock market. But some say it came from a long connection of the two animals bulls and bears in sports that were popular years ago in England. Investors are always concerned about the possibility of a company failing. In the modern world, a company that does not earn enough profit is said to go belly up. A company that goes belly up dies like a fish. Fish turn over on their backs when they die. So they're stomach or belly up. Stock market investors do not want that to happen to a company. They want a company whose stock they own to earn more profit than expected. This would sharply increase the value of the stock. Investors are hoping for a windfall. The word "windfall" comes from England of centuries ago. There poor people were banned from cutting trees in forests owned by rich landowners. But if the wind blew down a tree, the poor person could take the wood for fuel. So a windfall is something wonderful that happens unexpectedly.

Part IV "Bulls" and "bears"
A. Now you are going to hear a passage about some American expressions that are commonly based in business. Listen carefully and explain in note form the following words and expressions with the information you get from the story.
1. a stock exchange: noisy place/bell/ lighted messages / computers/ talk on the telephone/shout/run around
2. brokers: experts/salespeople/buy & sell shares of companies
3. stocks: shares
4. the big board: a list of stocks sold on the New York stock Exchange
5. a bear market: prices/go down
6. a bull market: prices/go up
7. a company that goes belly up: a company that does not earn enough profit
8. a windfall: a sharp increase in the value of a stock/something wonderful that happens unexpectedly
B. Now Listen to the passage again. Then briefly answer the questions.
1. When and where did the word "board" with the meaning mentioned in the passage appear in written form? in 1837 in a newspaper in Illinois
2. What is the origin of "a bear market"?
old story/sold the skin of a bear/before caught it
3. What is the origin of "a bull market"?
a long connection/ bulls and bears/ in sports/ popular years ago/England
4. What is the phrase "go belly up" originally used to describe? fish/turn over on their backs/die
5. What is the story about the origin of the word "windfall"?
England/centuries ago/ poor people/ banned/cutting trees/ the wind blew down the tree/take for fuel
Tapescript
Today we tell about some American expressions that are commonly used in business.
Bell sound, lighted messages appear, men and women work at computers, they talk on the telephone, at times they shout and run around. This noisy place is a stock exchange. Here experts, salespeople called brokers buy and sell shares of companies. The shares are known as stocks. People who own stock in a company own part of that company. People pay brokers to buy and sell stocks for them. If a company earns money, its stock increases in value. If the company docs not earn money, the stock decreases in value. Brokers and investors carefully watch for any changes on the big board. That is the name given to a list of stocks sold on the New York Stock Exchange. The first written use of the word with that meaning was in a newspaper in Illinois in 1837. It said, "The sales on the board were $1,700 in American gold." Investors and brokers watch the big board to see if the stock market is a bull market or a bear market. In a bear market, prices go down. In a bull market, prices go up. Investors in a bear market promise to sell a stock in the future at a set price, but the investor does not own the stock yet. He or she waits to buy it when the price ducks. The meaning of a bear market is thought to come from an old story about a man who sold the skin of a bear before he caught the bear. An English dictionary of the 1600s said, "To sell a bear is to sell what one has not." Word experts dispute the beginning of the Word "bull" in the stock market. But some say it came from a long connection of the two animals bulls and bears in sports that were popular years ago in England. Investors are always concerned about the possibility of a company failing. In the modern world, a company that does not earn enough profit is said to go belly up. A company that goes belly up dies like a fish. Fish turn over on their backs when they die. So they're stomach or belly up. Stock market investors do not want that to happen to a company. They want a company whose stock they own to earn more profit than expected. This would sharply increase the value of the stock. Investors are hoping for a windfall. The word "windfall" comes from England of centuries ago. There poor people were banned from cutting trees in forests owned by rich landowners. But if the wind blew down a tree, the poor person could take the wood for fuel. So a windfall is something wonderful that happens unexpectedly.